Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker said Friday that Democrats opposition to the Republican health care plan is based on their distrust of local government.
“This is just a pious approach to the federal government we’ve all heard for years. This is why people hate Washington. People there think they know better than people in the states and at the local level,” Mr. Walker, a Republican, said on Fox News.
Mr. Walker has been supportive of the Graham-Cassidy health care plan, which puts Obamacare funding into block grants for the states allowing governors and state lawmakers to build their own health insurance systems. The bill also repeals the Obamacare mandates.
“Governors and state lawmakers all across America spend a whole lot more time in the states and their districts than the folks in Washington who live in that bubble,” Mr. Walker said.
“The rest of us who live in reality are going to continue to provide for ways to provide for pre-existing conditions. Wisconsin is a good example. We had a high risk pool called HIRSP for years that was highly effective that Obamacare managed to get rid of,” he explained, referring to Wisconsin’s Health Insurance Risk-Sharing Pool.
HIRSP was the state’s health insurance market for those who did not have access to health insurance through an employer or another government program. It ended after Obamacare became law.
• Sally Persons can be reached at spersons@washingtontimes.com.
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